Oil-storage tank



Aug. 26,1930. w. C. ATHON 1,773,930

on. STORAGE TANK Filed Dec. 23, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fa/imam., 7

BY l

ATTORNEY Aug. 26, 1930. w. c. ATHON OIL STORAGE TANK Filed'Dec. 23, 1927 2 SheetS-Sheet 2 I A TToRNEY Mss i -A stillurther objectislt :struction ,of sloping bottom and scraping Ip means lwhich may be readilyv applied to oil.

Patentedy Aug. v`276,

c, ATHoN, or 'LAfvoYn WYoM1NG,fssiGNoaforbice-HALF p j rwarnoN, or LosnNGnLEsgcAmronNrA 1 oIL-sronnen raux' y Application. mdnece'mber 2s, 1921.-* seriaifrrq. 242,256.

t? invention relates to oil storage tanks, and particularly to means whereby they sediment, water. or otheri'oreign matter which collects at the'bottom'ofvf atank may be v drawnA Off.V l. ".1 Considerable diiiculty l'has' been encoun- `tcred by producers in maintaining storage tanksv free of basic sediment as required'by y Grdinarily the sediment is withdrawn through la bleed pipe lo-,f

pipe line companies.

cated inthe lower portion yof the tank, but

Y 'very frequently; this sediment becomes so thick as to prevent efficient removal of the accumulation. y f "i In accordancewith the rules of pipeline companies, the? basic 'sediment in tank bottoms must be six inches belowthe oil vdrain pipe, inefficient cleaning means for .the tanks, the accumulation offbasic sediment is yso greatas itoextendabovethe six inches, as allowed.

Under'such circumstances, the pipe line com,`

4 Vpanics refuse to runthe oil.

Therefore, it is an object ofthe invention to'provide a tankvof such construction as to cause theV basic sediment to accumulate ata relatively low point Ias compared to the level of the oil drain line, this being. accomplished bytheprovision of a sloping bottom.

vision of an efficient scrapingmeans, whereby .the basic sediment maybe manuallyscraped -from ahigh pointanddeposited atv alow oil tlirough'the oil drain line. y

' yprovide a conr vvrFigure 1 isa side elevation ofja-'tank Lequipped withrny'invention; f p

pl ..j 0.;f1figure 2 is averticalsection thereof, `l l p ving or but often'underrush conditions and A further 'obj ect of the invention is the prof point, thus permitting-ready owof'clean The shaft scraper-support, 'f-'kfFg'llre lfis a detail perspective. oftheA scraperand support, l

Figure 6 1s a perspective view voff afcogrnf-vr bine'dscraper stop and gauge support.

bolted sections 2, these being providedwith' "ro HQ Y f 'There isv illustrated a tank 1 comprising V y flanges-3 and respectively at top and bottom.

opening 6, ently described. rlyhestruoture `thus far re` `Uponthe flanges'-is suitablyboltedacover- 'f i top 5, this top being providedwith an '1 fora purpose which will be pres-I u y 65 cited is that ofY a VWell known construction of Y oil Storage 'Lamk- In order .thatf be provided 1 lwith ya vsloping bottom, aplurality ofvflanged tapering sectionsv 7 are bolted {tojthe flange 4j of the tankllr contour of the flange 4 of the tank.A Afbotto a low point 10.` The degree of vary,l thisdepending on the size of tank, but

rlhe bottom8 is reinforced by plates 11 and;

i12-upon the inner'andouter sidesther'eof. 'A1

intle bearing 15 is positioned centrally of theoutsideof the bottom 8. Thebearingp15',v

. aperturedto. receive bolts 16, as clearly shown in Eigu`rev2.: rIfhus the bearing ,15 is rigidly v.secured tothe bottom v f i .Revoluble upon the pintlejor` the bearing 15 n torn Slis bolted to the lowerace of the sections7, and from aninspection of Figurek 1,' a .it will be ,clearly Seen that a tank is provided 4havinga bottom sloping froma 'high poi-nt9 .taper of the sectionsv7` may *I 80 aS l Y tankpfzo barrel Capacity Should have a fau of iainches from thehigh point e 'to the 19W n y I p `the tank 1 and upon the plate 11. The plate i 12 is disposed directlybeneath the plate on there is avtubular.shaft'l174 extending verti-`lv lcally and" through the openingof the tank 1. p

17 is braced intermediate its ends as' at k'18. A'scraper 19' is secured at one endy v to the/shaft 17 meansof alclamp 201.1,l Ex-',100

These, sections 7 are'of such y shapeyand size as to readily align with the v tended transversely through the shaft 17 there are a plurality of rods 17L which may be employed as a ladder, should it become desirable to descend into the tank.

The scraper, in the present instance, comprises a rectangular blade 2l of a length to extend from its point of attachment to the shaft 1T into close Contact with the interior wall of the tank, and into close relation with the bottom The blade is braced byrods 22 and 23. A strap of ironQl- V-shaped in cross section is secured along the longitudinal edges of the blade 2l, these straps affording additional rigidity as Well as increasing the efficiency of the scraper.

An oil drain line connection is provided at the high point 9 of the tank as at 25, and at a point diametrically opposite, sediment bleed connections 26 are made. It will thus be seen that the sediment bleed connections are made at the lowest possible point of the tank bottom. i f

Upon the interior of the tank 1 and slightly above the openings for the bleeder connections 26, there is adjustably mounted a gauging platform 27, which as here shown, comrises two angle bars E28, a platform 29 and brace rods 30. The platform and brace rods are assembled in the relation as shown in Figure 6, and this unit is then secured to the side of the tank by bolts 31.

It may, at times, be found desirable to vary the height ofthe platformQS), and this may be accomplished by adjusting the rods 30 into registration with a desired aperture 32 of the angle irons 28. The platform 29 is also supported at its inner ends by braces 33. c

The platform in addition toserving as a support for the gauge rod, also prevents clean oil from mixing with the sediment being ejected by the scraper, as well as acting as a stop for the scraper.

As is sometimes found necessary, the sediment must be heated, before its removal can be accomplished, and therefore provision of a perforated steam heating coil 84 is made. The coil includes a feeder pipe 35 extending downwardly from the top of the tank Where it may be connected to a source of supply.

The coil Se is arranged to lie in a plane parallel with that of the bottom 8 of the tank, and this being the case, any water which may condense, will readily drain out of the pipe thus avoiding the possibility of the freezing of the coil, in cold weather.

The coil 34 may also be employed as ya means for blowing or forcing the sediment from the high point to the low point of the tank. In this use, a natural gas under pressure could be introduced into' the pipe 35, the gas emerging through the perforations of the coil 34. It will thus be seen that any sediment encountered by the gas will be caused to move down the sloping bottom 8 of the tank,

ing head 38 of the shaft 17. The shaft is nowV rotated by the handle, this in turn imparting a rotating movement to the scraper 19, With a consequent movement of sediment to its point of discharge, namely, the bleeder connections.

It 4should be noted that the scraper does not make a complete revolution of the tank, as it encounters the gauge platform at either side of its movement. This is important, as the tendency to pack the sediment tightly against the bleeder connections is obviated.

' It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from'the' spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim l. As an improved manufacture, a converter structure for simple cylindrical tanks, comprising a cylindrical wall having an upper edge in aplane at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and a bottom in a plane intersecting thev first plane near andoutwardly of the Wall, and a bleeder conduit opening through the Wall adjacent the lowest part of the bottom. f

2. In a device of the character described, a converter structure for simple cylindrical tanks, comprising a cylindrical wall having an upper edge in a plane at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and a bottom in a plane .intersecting the first plane near and outwardly of the wall, and a bleeder conduit opening through the wall adjacent the lowest part of the bottom, the upper edge of the wall being provided with a substantial flange, whereby the converter vmay `serve as a base upon which to erect a simple tank and convert the latter into a sloped bottom tank.

3. A tank having a sloping bottom comprising a Wall, said wall having a flange extended at right angles, a plurality'of tapering sections, the taper of each of said sections decreasing progressively from a low point to a.

high point in said bottom, said tapering sectionsA being provided with flanges adapted to abut the adjacent section and said wall flange, and means to secure said tapered sections to said wall flange.

4. A tank having a sloping bottom, comprising a wall, a plurality of taperingsections, the taper of each of said sections decreasing progressively from a low point to'a high point in said bottom, said tapering sec- '5 and state of Wyoming, this 15th tions being adapted to abut one another and v said wall, and means to secure saidtaper'ed sectins to said wall." i 1 j Signed at Casper, in the county of'Natrona dayof December, 1927, A. D.

WALTERC. A'IHONQn n 

